Shows kids allowed/not allowed to watch

[newdaddy1223]

i'm looking for opinions but i'm still kinda new at this so suggestions and/or advice is welcome. my daughter is 2 1/2 and we don't have cable. What do you find helpful to your kids learning and how much tv d you let them watch. my daughter loves the wiggles :)

[ServantofTruth]

With our older ones it was mainly the Powerpuff Girls and Dexters Laboratory. Our 3 year old loves Thomas the Tank Engine, Sponge Bob does all 5 from 15 1/2 to 3 year old. We are always in the room so if anything was iffy we'd turn it over.

They all watched far too much tv, by most people's estimates and now play computor games for hours. But as they are all high achievers - straight 'A's, i really don't care! Homework always comes first and is checked and redone if we're not happy. Rarely these days, as they know we mean it. :(

2 1/2 - most caroons. Tom & Jerry. Oh Scooby Doo our 3 year old likes. 2nd hand Thomas videos are very cheap. Charity shops have loads of childrens videos.

We had all boys, so perhaps you need someone with girls to answer? SofTy.

[Lady Ashanti]

i'm looking for opinions but i'm still kinda new at this so suggestions and/or advice is welcome. my daughter is 2 1/2 and we don't have cable. What do you find helpful to your kids learning and how much tv d you let them watch. my daughter loves the wiggles :)

My children are adults, however I am particular with what my grandchildren, [ages 5 mths to 17 years], watch, and want the programs to teach, as well as, show life lessons. They

Here is my list of programs, [all on PBS], that I let my grand-daughter watch who just turned 3 years old, ["stars" show my favorites]:

-Sesame Street
-Berenstein Bears
-Clifford the Big Red Dog
-It's a Big, Big World!
-Arthur
-Reading Rainbow **
-Maya & Miquel
-Sid the Science Kid *
-Super Why **
-Curious George
-Word World ****[I love this show because every thing is created by spelled out words, and it teaches life lessons].

Also, I take out books from the library for her. We are teaching her sign language, and the library has some great books, and DVDs to assist in this, [baby signing time].

Oh, I think a few hours a day will not hurt however I like to interact as well. When my children were little [starting at age 4], I would create stories for them, even making it a game where I would start it, then the next one would add a part, thenthe next one, etc until we had created a full story. Then they began to do it themselves without me, [I miss those times-smile].

I would also play an alphabet game where I would be pretend we went in a grocery store, or video store, etc, and we would have to find items, or videos in alphabetical order. It was so much fun, and didn't cost a cent...

I hope this helps...:)

PS...I don't know how I forgot my all time favorite "Veggie Tales", I was thinking TV and they only come on Saturdays here, however you can rent videos, buy some at Salvation Army, or any other consignment store.

[Big T]

baby and little einsteins are great. So are the Backyardigans. We also have Thomas the train and max and ruby (which I personally hate).

[Toymom]

well, i don't practice what i preach in this matter, but honestly, the less tv and other screen time, the better for children.
i did the best with my oldest daughter, but with the younger ones, not as well.
for proper programming it is best if you watch it yourself and pray to determine if you consider it is educational and suitable.
remember you can always add more tv time and shows easier than to take them away from a child because once they have seen something inappropriate, it is too late.

[cnw]

we don't watch any tv, just movies that we screen very closely. and only when we are out of other ideas.
Sesame street is pro gay, arnold is a moral with a lot of trouble before it, and on and on.
Bibleman
the wiggles,
Oddesy
veggie tales
the donut man

good moral lessons.

if you try to watch nothing except during real needs then your children will learn to be imaginative and not rely on tv to entertain themselves.

[superwoman8977]

I really dont monitor the TV watching. My kids know what they can watch and what they cant. I know my 10 yr old loves the Disney Channel and Nick and Toon Disney and Nick on Demand. As for the 6 yr old he is liking Disney channel and Nick. I dont believe in sheltering a child, also my kids know that movies like Harry Potter and that are fiction and know the difference between reality and fiction.

[cnw]

It is very unwise to let a child decide what is right and wrong. It is like the blind leading the blind. We are parents given a great responsibility to raise, protect, and nurture our children. When we do not shelter them from the world...we let them become like the world.
disney has pretty much blatently put sex, drugs, and vulgarity, and all other immorality in our faces and with their subliminal msgs it is no wonder our little girls are dressing like Jasmine and Ariel and our boys do not have the slightest idea what a covenant with their eyes mean.
God gave us an order to raise our children in the admonition of the LORD and for a child...fiction and reality intermix, unless they are getting mostly truth they will distort it.

[motorcyclesfly]

I don't have any children of my own, but I do babysit, and also watch some tv, and I think you have to be pretty careful. Something that shocked me was watching Disney channel at babysitting. I thought it was fine to allow it, because the parents do, and because it's Disney. However, I started watching the shows with the eight year old girl I babysit and was really floored. She liked "Raven", "Hannah Montana" and other shows like that. They were maybe appropriate for young teens but not for her, because they dealt with dating, sex, betrayal, disobedience and other stuff. Other shows she used to watch were "Kim Possible" and other Cartoon Network shows. None of them were horrible but they were all fluff and usually talked about nothing of value to anyone. A lot taught bad manners, greed and selfishness. Plus, I really think they made this girl want to grow up faster. At six and seven she would ask people if she looked sexy, and would worry about if she could wear makeup, if she needed boyfriends, etc. Just because it's marketed to kids doesn't mean it's ok for them.

Another thing is, just because toys are made for a movie or show doesn't mean it's okay for kids either. For instance, Harry Potter. I happen to love Harry Potter. I got into it as a younger teen and have always been a fan ever since the second book came out. However, HP has darkness, vice, violence, murder, betrayal, cruelty, torture and a lot of other stuff in it along with what I think are interesting characters, perplexing dilemnas and intriguing moral questions. It's fine for teens, but I've heard of plenty of parents and schools offering it to young kids, and I think that's wrong. Just because McDonald's has toys of it doesn't mean it's okay for children. HP and other stuff has been heavily marketed to kids, but even with guidance I don't think most kids benefit at all from seeing it. Same for Pirates of the Caribbean and other Disney films. Those are for teens and adults, not little kids. I think people forget that.

[Forklifter]

What do you find helpful to your kids learning and how much tv d you let them watch. my daughter loves the wiggles :)[/quote]

Godly books and toys are the best for learning, even at 2 1/2. We dont do TV or movies or video games. There is always a new study showing the detrimental effects of TV. It will take much more effort on the parents part to provide a nuturing enviroment for their children, as it will always be easier to plop them down in front of the TV or computer and go about your bussiness. Go to the library, book stores, get books on tape/cd. Begin a godly library now and your children will treat it as their TV. Our children are 8,9,13 and we sometimes have to limit their reading as they wont do anythting else. But aside from books there are games, crafts, toys etc.. A mistake we made was getting toys that were for children older than what ours were at the time, only to find out a couple of years later they wanted a toy they already had and got rid of a year or two previously. Get a pet and teach the child to help out with it. A chore, even at that age will reap rewards as they mature and continue to help the family and will give your child a sense of accomplishment. Children want to interact, and they will, wether it be you or the TV.

[tayariswife]

my son used to love Blue's Clues. You can probably rent it. Sesame Street is a good one, I think. My sister used to love Barney (can't satnd that show!) and learned alot. Baby Einstein is good, and if you're buying tapes, maybe try "Muzzy" it teaches the kids different languages....

[ChristianKnight]

I've been watching R-rated since I was about 11, but that was only violence movies, my parents didn't allow me to watch anything with Nudity, and still don't 'allow' me to too, but if its got violence, I watch it on YouTube. Mostly War movies, horror movies, action, or western, but I also like movies that are based on history, but most of them are war.

[jangar]

I prefer to buy my children and grandchildren old Saturday Morning cartoons from mostly the 1970's. on DVD. They especially love the Superfriends (all 7 series). Just in case some don't know. The Superfriends was a team of some of pop culture's most popular superheroes. The list of the main team members are:

1. SUPERMAN
2. BATMAN & ROBIN
3. WONDER WOMAN
4. AQUAMAN

PLUS HEROES MADE UP FOR THE SHOW
ZAN & JAYNA (THE WONDER TWINS) (THEY WERE SHAPE SHIFTERS)
GLEEK (THE WONDERTWINS PET SPACE MONKEY)


The earliest series taught valuable lessons in safety and health. It also taught kids how to do crafts and simple tricks. These tricks had nothing to do with magic, although they called them "magic" tricks. One episode showed kids how to make a dime disappear just by how they held it in their hand

In the stories, good (Superfriends) ALWAYS won out over the evil. Their were also hidden lessons in the storylines.

Jangar

[taddy]

Hey Jan,

The Superfriends were my all time fav as a kid.

Here is the list of titles of Superfriends shows. There were 8 different series, not 7.

1. The Superfriends (1973/1974)- This the one with Wendy, Marvin and Wonderdog

2. The All New Superfriends Hour (1977/1978)- I believe this may the series you were talking about.

3. The Superfriends Adventures/Challange of the Superfriends (1978/1979) - Challenge was the one with the Legion of Doom

4. The World's Greatest Superfriends (1979/1980)

5. The Superfriends Hour (1980/1981, 1981/1982)

6. The Best Of the Superfriends (1982/1983, 1983/1984)

7. Superfriends: Legendary Super Powers Show (1984/1985) - Introduced Firestorm

8. The Superpower Team: Galactic Guardians (1985/1986)- introduced Cyborg

These were great shows.

Taddy

[jangar]

There were other cartoon series in the Superfriends family

1. Justice League (2001)

2. Justice League Unlimited (2003)

3. Superman And The Legion of Superheroes (2006)

4. Cartoon Movie: Justice League New Frontier (2007)- This movie featured members of the Early 1960's Justice League of America and Superfriends.


Jangar

[ServantofTruth]

If I started cutting out any children's tv with violence, language or attitude, there would be nothing left. All the old stuff like Tom & Jerry, constant violence. Scooby Doo today - real witchcraft, not just the people revealed to be fake. Not one cartoon would be ok. Definitely not Christian.

I watch very little adult tv (not meaning rude, meaning none childrens).

But like I've said I have generally polite, obediant and straight A's children. They all watched hours of tv, computer games, and computers. But homework comes first. Bible study has been daily for over 3 years. At all times and every subject, Jesus and the bible is included.

Remember tv is a mini part of life even if it's on most of the day. SofTy.

[Metalwolf]

I don't have kids, but if I did, I don't think I would have a TV in the house. Or if I did, it would be disconnected from cable, and used mostly to watch movies.


What is on now is shocking. When I was little, I used to watch Nickolodian and MTV. But MTV wasn't as bad as it is now, back then it was mostly music videos and interviews with the rock stars. Now it is vapid teen navel gazing and stuff about sex. I don't want my (future) kids to think that they are the most important age section in the world because of the way this culture caters to them on that.

I also used to watch the 80's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now the new one is so dark, and in one of the episodes, a Turtle cut off Shredder's head, but you didn't find out until a later episode that the guy had actually been a robot body for an alien. Its like this stuff is getting meaner earlier, when this kind of thing used to be for teens and adults. I don't think death and dark subjects should be excluded from 'toons, but this series seems to be all dark, even the Turtles are meaner.

Its like TV is not the light entertainment it used to be, now it is depressing and full of shows where sex is a major componant in jokes and storylines. Or its full of children's shows where depressing is the rule.

[newdaddy1223]

I don't have kids, but if I did, I don't think I would have a TV in the house. Or if I did, it would be disconnected from cable, and used mostly to watch movies.


What is on now is shocking. When I was little, I used to watch Nickolodian and MTV. But MTV wasn't as bad as it is now, back then it was mostly music videos and interviews with the rock stars. Now it is vapid teen navel gazing and stuff about sex. I don't want my (future) kids to think that they are the most important age section in the world because of the way this culture caters to them on that.

I also used to watch the 80's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now the new one is so dark, and in one of the episodes, a Turtle cut off Shredder's head, but you didn't find out until a later episode that the guy had actually been a robot body for an alien. Its like this stuff is getting meaner earlier, when this kind of thing used to be for teens and adults. I don't think death and dark subjects should be excluded from 'toons, but this series seems to be all dark, even the Turtles are meaner.

Its like TV is not the light entertainment it used to be, now it is depressing and full of shows where sex is a major componant in jokes and storylines. Or its full of children's shows where depressing is the rule.

this is exactly why i don't have cable anymore. for me it's pretty much just star trek and twilight zone some monk and the odd couple. i try to keep it lighthearted. we also have lots of veggie tales too. i'll admit we do have the tv on a little too much, especially since i've been working nights, but i've switching to dayshift after this week and the weather's getting warmer so we can get out and get some more excercise.

[jangar]

Again, I say try to find the Superfriends. They were great.



JANGAR

[revrobor]

Our family bought our first TV when I was a teen. It was a black & white 11" set. All that was on during the day was a test pattern. There was no overnight programming. Over the six decades since then I have watched television programming deteriorate into agenda pushing poison whether it's homosexuality, violence, illicit sex, profanity, Christian bashing, law-breaking, shacking up or immoral conduct none of it can be trusted. Little-by-little it creeps into all programming and for anyone to say they don't monitor the TV just shows a plain lack of interest in their children's welfare or a plain lack of intelligence or maybe both. It has been a subtle change but a dangerous one and if we're going to have television in the home we need to monitor it carefully.

[KeLaw]

i have 2 toddlers/little boys, one is 2 the other 4.

in general their mother and I have almost cut off cold turkey the mass majority of cartoons because many shows targeted at children have a ton of messages.

some subversive and subtle, some not too.

age specific is critical, for example i will not let me boys watch anything ultra violent, they're boys they're naturally violent to begin with.

we have a satellite dish so we do have a selection of both "family" stations as well as Christian stations. KTV for example is like a Christian alternative to mtv or Nick.

we try to limit the number of hours we allow our boys to watch tv in general and my wife is good enough to read Children's Bible passages before the boys go to bed.

my boys like sports and one of them is a budding gearhead.

I WATCH TV WITH the boys. i hold the remote with my finger on the channel recall- because when scantily clad women, alcohol, viagra, questionable movie teasers etc come on? i can flick to another station instantly.

why? i don't think its OK for a 2 or a 3 year old to be programmed at such an early age in the things of the world especially things related to lust, drinking and graphic uber-violence and language.

but that's me.

[Moxie]

There is a good organization out there called "Feature films for families" that have excellent movies--all age appropriate. Years ago, we bought a copy of movies from them. I will tell you they will continue to solicit--for us its about once every 3 months. I'm sure there are other organizations out there, videos you can purchase/rent as options as well.

[Metalwolf]

this is exactly why i don't have cable anymore. for me it's pretty much just star trek and twilight zone some monk and the odd couple. i try to keep it lighthearted. we also have lots of veggie tales too. i'll admit we do have the tv on a little too much, especially since i've been working nights, but i've switching to dayshift after this week and the weather's getting warmer so we can get out and get some more excercise.I agree. But it's hard for a person to keep the TV away, as we (the younger generation) basically have been raised to have it in the house and to make it a big part of our lives. How does one keep the kids occupied, when we ourselves have so relied on TV and haven't really learned how to entertain ourselves without it?

[My_King]

I have no children so I don't have to worry about this yet. However, my husband and I don't have cable at all. We rent documentaries from netflix. We're boring. :)

However, my sister's children are basically being raised the way she and I were....which is - STRICT TV viewing. My parents did NOT allow us to simply watch TV whenever we wanted to. She had this "schedule" we followed. Looking back it was a genius idea, because we never questioned it - if it was on the schedule, we could.

We watched TV shows of Little House On The Prairie, The Waltons, and a cartoon of Tom & Jerry. When we were a bit older, we could watch a bit more TV and with more mature content. I think by the time we were 13 (?) we were no longer on a "schedule" but we had the habit of NOT watching TV that we tended to find other things to do.

She's also having to put "Computer Time" on a schedule as well.......My parents didn't have to worry about that back when I was a kid....whew...how things can change!

[Addams Family]

how is Sesame Street pro gay?

[Moxie]

how is Sesame Street pro g*y?

I was not allowed to watch Sesame Street as a kid because, "They believe anything is right" I'm not sure what would have been offensive on a children's show in the 70's but...

Anyway... when I let my daughter watch Sesame street (2000-2003) I found they are very accepting of everyone and tolerate of 'unacceptable' behavior even though they will address why the behavior is unacceptable. I did not find any issues that as a parent would have made me ban the show.

However, I have not watched Sesame Street for several years, so I'm not sure what they may have on the show now. With the accepting attitude they have had over the years, I can see (speculatively speaking) that if a g*y man/woman was on the show that the person/lifestyle may be accepted.

[David Taylor]

i'm looking for opinions but i'm still kinda new at this so suggestions and/or advice is welcome. my daughter is 2 1/2 and we don't have cable. What do you find helpful to your kids learning and how much tv d you let them watch. my daughter loves the wiggles :)

If you ever get cable, avoid "ABC Family".

While it's name seems appealing to families and children, many of it's shows are very over-sexed, suggestive, promote adultry and fornication, etc...

Some of what it does is as bad as MTV, it just attempts to promote itself as a family channel, making unaware parents think it is OK....It's not.

I learned that with a show my daughter wanted to watch called "Wildfire" about a horse and a teenager who cared for it; as well as the new "Roommates" show, and a few others that glorified premarital sex and homosexuality among teens.

[ShortStuff]

There is a good organization out there called "Feature films for families" that have excellent movies--all age appropriate. Years ago, we bought a copy of movies from them. I will tell you they will continue to solicit--for us its about once every 3 months. I'm sure there are other organizations out there, videos you can purchase/rent as options as well.

I agree --Feature Films for Families is great...Veggie Tales is good...along the same lines is 3-2-1 Penguins...I paid out a series of DVDs by Nest Video...they are fantastic...I mainly got the New Testament, but I have a few Old Testament -Daniel, Esther...They come with workbooks that have activities for different age groups. I love this..and even use it as a special treat each month in Children's Church....it has been worth every penny..

BibleMan was suggested, but I found my daughter did not care much for it..Gaither's Pond is really good...another one I think is called The Bellflower Bunnies...it has been a while...my baby is graduating this year..

I have always monitored what my children have watched...Some of the shows aimed at kids should not even be allowed for adults...The best thing that my husband and I ever did was buy a TV Guardian...we have loved ours so much we have even given them as gifts..It mutes any inappropriate word before it can come out on a show...I am not just talking about cussing...but just plain inappropriate..I highly recommend it to everyone..the only thing it cannot do anything about is live shows as it works off the closed-captioning somehow.